Editorial

e‑Government is, like many a term in technology before it, suffering from verbal inflation. Actually that is something of an overstatement, terminological proliferation would be a better way of putting it. Now we have e‑governance, t‑government, i‑government, etc. It seems that picking a new letter and sticking it in front of ‘government’ is becoming quite the fashion.

However e‑government is still alive and well and in this issue we have a rich variety of articles covering different aspects of the topic. Joseph Bwayala is (I think) the journal’s first author from Botswana. In his paper he uses the Technology Acceptance Model as a starting point for looking at ways of reducing the risk of failure of e‑government projects in southern Africa and specifically how an adoption model has been used in Zambia and Botswana to foster e‑inclusion. This is a tale of two countries with Botswana having a developed e‑government strategy whilst Zambia is still at a much more basic level with its services. The model he proposes is a complex one and it is interesting to compare it with other models of e‑government acceptance. Of particular interest is the inclusion of local culture in the mix.

Another African country, Uganda, is the locus of Edgar Asiimwe and Nena Lim’s article in which they address another important theme in e‑government research, namely website usability. As they point out, only limited research has yet been done in this area in Africa. As the authors point out, Uganda currently does not score highly on e‑readiness criteria, but there is a steady growth in web usage. Looking at a range of major ministry web sites in the country, the authors consider various aspects of design layout, navigation and legal policies. They use a coding scheme to construct a simple, but effective model for rating each ministry. This is a model which might prove useful to other researchers, especially those in Africa.

There are two papers from Malaysia in this issue, both looking at different problems. Erlane K Ghani and Jamaliah Said look at the use by local authorities in Malaysia of the Web to disclose financial information. The Malaysian government has set itself the target of making Malaysia a fully developed country by 2020. eGovernment is one of a number of pillars in their approach to this. One of their findings is that a factor affecting how local authorities use the Web to disclose financial information is their sense of social obligation. Performance is another factor. Size, it would appear, does not matter. Their research suggests opportunities for others to replicate in different environments and compare what they find with the Malaysian results.

Also in Malaysia, Anna Che Azmi and Ng Lee Bee investigate the factors which affect adoption of e‑filing for taxation. Their approach is based in what has become almost a tradition for acceptance models as their review of the literature shows. They show that for Malaysian taxpayers at least, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and perceived risk all influence the intention to use and usage of the e‑filing system. These findings are in line with those found in other countries and are a useful addition to the growing body of knowledge about user take‑up of on‑line taxation services.

In a different part of the globe, Hyun Jung Yun and Cynthia Opheim analyse the diffusion of e‑government take‑up by the populations of different States of the Union in America. West has shown that there are quite dramatic differences in state e‑government rankings in the USA with the top states achieving double the scores of the weakest. A wide variety of explanations for these discrepancies have been proposed from topography to economic resources. Yun and Opheim suggest that a more useful explanatory factor is emulation and examine four explanatory hypotheses about diffusion: emulation, imitation, citizen demand and accumulation of time. They conclude that leadership is influential and that states will be motivated to copy innovations which they perceive will lead to greater efficiency and cost savings. This gives a greater impetus to reforms.

In terms of the typical EJEG paper, Andrew Power’s article is not in the mainstream, but it is the type of article of which I would like to see more and I invite readers to take up similar themes. Power’s article is about the positioning of ICT in the question of the democratic legitimacy of the European Union. Reflecting on a wide range of ideas, he examines how the EU uses ICT in general and in particular used ICT in the European Parliament elections of 2009. He also examines how our politicians see the role of ICT in democracy at European level. The article provides a rich vein of material for thought, discussion and further research. If any reader would like to pen a response or reflection on it, I would be pleased to consider it.

Finally in this issue, Tony Susanto and Robert Goodwin explore the use of short messaging service (SMS) technology by government. Despite the enormous popularity of this technology, the authors point out that there has as yet been no significant study of its use as an e‑ (or more accurately m‑) government tool. Using a multinational telephone survey which threw up some intriguing findings including that perceived efficiency in time and distant was the second most influential factor in take‑up after perceived ease of use, the authors observe that this suggests that citizens are cost conscious about such services. Another interesting finding (which may have wider implications) is that people like SMS because they perceive that they are dealing with people; they do not like talking to machines. There are other findings in their work, too many to summarise here, but this article also provides a trove of further research possibilities.

Abstract

Government websites offer great benefits to citizens and governments. Such benefits, however, cannot be realized if websites are unusable. This study investigates usability of government websites in Uganda. Using the feature investigation method, the study evaluated four Ugandan government websites according to three perspectives. Results show that websites are partially usable in the design layout and navigation perspectives but are rather weak in stating legal policies. Evaluation results provide the Ugandan government with a clear picture of what needs to be improved according to international website design standards. Moreover, the parsimonious evaluation framework proposed in the research is useful for any country that wants to do a quick and easy evaluation of their government websites.

Abstract

There has recently been an escalation of e‑Government initiatives in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, with South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles and Botswana leading the way towards this cause. Evidence indicates e‑Government implementation projects in this region either fail or succeed. Therefore it is important that before actual implementation is commissioned, there is need to understand the different challenges that come with e‑Government implementations such as investment risks, failure to be adopted by the general citizenry, abandoning already‑commissioned e‑Government activities, and so forth. uch problems can be avoided by putting in place a properly and carefully authored e‑Government adoption strategy that takes care of the local context and the multi‑dimensionality of e‑Government. This paper, with strong reference to Davis' 1989 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theoretical underpinning, proposes a conceptual e‑Government adoption model that may be commensurate with promoting the growth of e‑ Government in the SADC region. However, the limitation of this proposed model is that it has not been empirically tested and leaves room for its further validation. The paper follows up on the status of e‑Government implementation in the SADC region by presenting two case studies that detail what interventions and initiatives have been put in place to encourage e‑Government in Botswana and Zambia.

Abstract

The e‑filing system is an important e‑government service in Malaysia. This paper investigates the factors that lead to the acceptance of e‑filing among taxpayers by using TAM. This study proposes a model consisting of three constructs, which are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived risk. The model proposed by this study is a simpler model compared to other studies on e‑filing. The confirmatory factor analysis shows that the model is an adequate fit. Based on the data collected from 166 respondents, the results showed that the proposed model explained up to 61% of the variance in behavioral intention. All of the variables significantly influence behavioral intention. The perceived risk construct has a negative association with the perceived usefulness construct. However, there is no significant association between the perceived risk and perceived ease of use constructs.

Abstract

Using 109 Malaysian local authorities as the sample, this paper examines the type and extent of financial information disclosed digitally. This study further examines whether council size, performance and social obligation affect digital reporting. The results show that 64.2% maintain websites and out of this, 15.7% local authorities provide some disclosure on financial statements digitally. The results also show that performance and social obligation do influence the digital reporting practices among the local authorities. Further investigations reveal that lack of information technology facilities, inadequate specialised staff and lack of enforcement are among the factors deterring local authorities to disclose their financial information digitally. The results increase the body of knowledge by providing a continuous insight on the type and extent of information disclosed digitally by the Malaysian local authorities.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review the arguments and examine the case for the legitimacy of the European Union (EU) and its institutions. In terms of the scope of the paper the author sought to, examine the literature in this area, engage with current issues, and speak with practitioners. This paper was written in the months leading up to the 2009 elections to the European Parliament. A number of interviews were done including two Irish members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who were standing for re‑election at the time. This was done to ground some of the ideas brought forward by the literature in the experience of those most directly involved. The paper goes on to look at some of the approaches to democratising the EU such as the way in which the EU has used information and communication technologies (ICT) to connect with the citizens of Europe. The author concludes that, while the EU does not conform to ideal models of legitimacy and accountability, it is evolving in that direction and a case can be made that the EU is at least as accountable as the nation states of which it is composed. It is also the view of the author that developments in social networking and virtual environments, offer states and politicians the opportunity to better engage with citizens and contribute to the speed of this evolution.

Abstract

This paper identifies the factors that determine citizens' acceptance of SMS‑based e‑government services. It reports on a web‑based survey, paper‑based questionnaires, and phone‑call interviews that collected 159 responses from 25 countries. The results indicate that there are fifteen perceptions toward using SMS‑based e‑government services that may influence citizens to use or to reject the services: perceived ease of use; perceived efficiency in time and distance; perceived value for money; perceived usefulness; perceived responsiveness; perceived convenience; perceived relevance, quality and reliability of the information; trust in the SMS technology; perceived risk to user privacy; perceived reliability of the mobile network and the SMS‑based system; trust in government and perceived quality of public services; perceived risk to money; perceived availability of device and infrastructure; perceived compatibility; and perceived self‑efficacy in using SMS. Whether or not a citizen adopts an SMS‑based e‑government service is influenced by these perceptions. To increase the acceptance of SMS‑based e‑government services, the systems should address all of these belief factors. An intensive advertising campaign for the services in all mass media channels is critically important to make citizens aware of and to provide detailed knowledge about the services. The advertising campaign should involve people who influence individuals' decision making. These people include friends, family, teachers, experts, public figures, and government officials. This study found that Notification services are the most frequently used followed by Pull SMS, Listen, and Transaction SMS services. Notification services could be an appropriate starting point for governments who want to establish SMS‑based e‑government services.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine what factors encourage the diffusion of Internet technology, or e‑government, in the American states. Different dimensions of digital technology are examined by investigating the spread of both e‑service and e‑democracy. A longitudinal mixed linear model is used to test the direct effects of states' political, economic, demographic, and ideological factors on the states' efforts to adopt Internet technology over the first seven years of the new millennium. The results indicate that the adoption of Internet technology is a cumulative process; a state's preexisting digitalization is continuously built on progress in expanding the governmental digital services and outreach. States whose leaders are engaged in professional networks are more likely to adopt e‑government. Institutionally powerful governors also encourage the adoption of on‑line technology. The study concludes that the spread of Internet technology in providing services and expanding outreach fits the explanatory analysis of noncontroversial policies that are diffused by a process of emulation. Executive power, leadership, and professional networks reinforce this pattern of emulation.